meeeell



(No Model.)

J. 0. MERRELL.

OIL CAN.

NQ. 298,874-. Patented May 20, 1884.

.line a; m of Fig. 1.

' lUNrrnn JAY C. MERRELL, OF

G'ENESEO, NE\V YORK.

CAN.

EBIPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,874, dated May 20, 1884.

Application filed December 21, 1882. (No model.)

.b all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAY O. MERRELL, of Geneseo, Livingston county, New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Oil-Cans and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which* Figure l is a central longitudinal vertical section of the can. Fig. 2 is across-section in Fig. 8 is a section of the pump-cylinder cover enlarged. Fig. 4 is a modification.

My improvement belongs to that class of oil cans in which a pump is used and a flexible pipe leads therefrom, by which a lamp may be filled without tilting the can.

The invention consists in the particular construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more definitely described and claimed.

In the drawings, A shows a cylindrical oilcan withouta spout, and having a perinanentlyclosed top. or handle, by which it may be carried.

B is a tube which forms the pump-cylinder. It passes through the cover of the can, being permanently attached thereto, and extends downward to the bottom of the can, being supported on the bottom by small lugs a a, which leave sufficient space beneath for, the oil in the can to pass under and enter the tube. In the bottom of the tube is a valve, I), of any suitable construction,which opens upward.

O is a side tube or passage of smaller size on one side of the main tube, which side tube communicates with the main tube at the bottom by a port, 0, and said side tube extends up through the cover, and has 011 its top a nipple, (1, upon which is placed a small flexible tube, D, the latter being of sufficient length to extend to the lamp to be filled. Small holes f f are made in the main tube near the top, under the cover, for the purpose of dis charging excess of oil from the tube, as will presently be described.

E is a piston or plunger resting in the main tube, as shown, and provided with a rod, G, which extends up through the top of the tube and is operated by hand. The piston may be made in any desired way, but is preferably wrapped with some kind of cloth and wound It is provided with a bailwith cord or string, thus holding the cloth in place and producing a packing.

II is a cover fitted. removably into the top of the tube 13, having acentral eye or opening to allow passage of the piston-rod, and having also a hole, g, into which the lower free end of the flexible tube D may be inserted after the oil has been poured and when the can is not in use, as shown in Fig. 3, and in the dotted lines of Fig. 1.

I is a spiral spring,which rests around the piston-rod, one end bearing upon the top of the piston, the other end resting under some solid bearing in the top of the main tube. The object of this spring is to force the piston down, gradually driving the oil out of the main tube beneath. the piston into the side tube or passage, thence out through the flexible tube and into the lamp which is to be filled. By this means the oil is forced out automatically, and both hands of the operator may be used to attend to the filling of the lamp.

h is a small valve which covers the port a, resting in the side passage, 0, which opens in the downstroke of the piston, but closes in the upstroke. The object of this valve is to prevent air from passing down the side tube into the main tube in the upstroke of the piston, thus producing an unpleasant noise; but the valve may be dispensed with, if desired.

ward, which charges the cylinder by the oil running in at the bottom through the valve 1). The piston is then forced down, driving the oil which rests beneath it through the portcinto the side tube, 0, thence upward through said side tube, and through the flexible tube lD into the lamp. By holding the flexible tube between the thumb and fingers it can be con1- pressed and the flow of oil out off instantly when the lamp is filled, thereby preventing overflow and spilling, which occurs where'the can is tilted andthe oil poured through a stiff spout, as in ordinary cans. The end of the flexible pipe can then be carried up and inserted in the hole 9, and the excess of oil which is forced up by the piston will be discharged back into the can.

The spring I rests at its upper end against the cover H, and the latter is attached to the tube B in such a manner that it will not be In operation the piston is first drawn up forced up out of place by the spring. Any

of the form shown in the drawings, may be suitable fastening may be used, that shown in the drawings being small hooks i, attached to the cover, which engage with eyes 70 on the.

tube;

If desired, the tube G,instead of being made made separate from the main tube, but attached at the bottom, so as to communicate with the main tube. If desired, also, a thimble con sisting of a short section of metal tube or a nozzle may be attached to the lower end of the flexible tube D, as shown in Fig. 4.

By constructing the cylinder .13 and tube 0 in one body, or connecting them so that they lie together, they can be inserted or removed without trouble, and by carrying the tube up through the top of the can with a nozzle at the 9 top the flexible tube can be easily applied can be inserted in a socket, as shown in Pat; ent No. 145,999.

What I claim as new is The combination of the oil-can A, the..cyl-

inder B, provided with a valve in its bottom and discharge-holes near its top, the side tube, 0, communicating with the cylinder by a port, the flexible tube D, attached to the top of the side tube, 0, the plunger E, resting in the cylinder, the spring I, resting around the rod G and pressing on the plunger, and the cover H, provided with the hole 9, for the insertion of the end of the flexible tube, as shown and described, and for the purpose specified. 1

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAY C. MERRELL.

Witnesses:

R. F. Oseoon, O. A. SMITH. 

